Flaming-arc headlight.



L. M. MGBRIDE.

FLAMING ARG HEADLIGHT.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 12, 1911.

Patented May 20, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1- L. M. MoBRIDE.

FLAMING ARG HEADLIGHT.

1121110111011 Hum JUNI: 12, 1911.

Patented May 20, 1913.

3 BHBETS--SHEBT 2.

uhwunuuum.

L. M. MOBRIDE.

FLAMING ARG HEADLIGHT.'

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 12, 1911.

1 ,O62,408. Patented May 20, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

To all whom it may concern:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEWISI. HOBRIDE, OF DENVER, COLORADO,l ASSIGNOR TO THE ARCTURUS ELECTRIC AND MANUFACTURING COLORADO.

-COMPANY, OF DENVER, COLORADO, A CORPORATIONv 0F' FLAMING-ARC HEADLIGHT.

Specicationof Letters Patent.

Application led J'une 12, 1911. Serial No. 632,663.

Patented May 20, 1913.

Be it known that I, LnwrsM. MGBRIDE, a citizen of the United States of America, residing in the city and county of Denver 'and State of Colorado, have invented a new and useful FlamingArc Headlight, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in -electric headlights,and particularly to the use of a flaming arc lamp in connection 'with street railway and locomotive headlights, and the objectsy of my invention are, first: to

rovide a flaming are headlight; second to improve the character and eiciency of the illumination upon the track; third: to eliminate shadows from the projected light; fourth: to provide an electric headlight with an im roved means of re lation; fifth: to

provi e an electric headhght in which theus'ual intermittent lflickering of the li ht, due to the feeding of the carbons or e ectrodes, is prevented; sixth: to provide an vthe line of section of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a electric headlight in which the arc .is maintained in a predetermined fixed position, such as the focal point of a reflector used in conjunction with said headlight; seventh: to provide in connection with a lamin arc headlight, means for controlling and. direct. ing the flame of the arc along the axis toward .the vertex of the saidV reflector; eighth: to provide in yconnection with a flaming arc headlight an'improved form of reflector; `and ninth: to rovide in connection with an electric headlight a means for diverging or. concentrating the light u on the track, at will of the operator. I attain these objects by the mechanism-illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichfr' Figure 1, is a front elevation of the improved headlight, the door of the housing which incloses the feed tube operating mechanism being open, as well as the door of the reflector casing. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view through, the headlight, showing i the feed tube operating mechanism in side elevation. Fig. 3 is a vertical, sectional View through the feed tube operating mechanism, showing the same detached from the head.- light, and in a vertical Vosition. Fi 4 is f) the feed tu e op.-

lan view ofthe said mechanism. Fig. 6 ,1s-a side elevation enlarged, of the lower end of one of the feed tubes and clamps for hold.-

ing one of the electrodev supports, a thin metal contact strip being shown interposed between theelectrode and tube. Fig. 7 is a plan view thereof, the tube and electrode, being insect-ion. Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic viewillustrating the ma etic circuit through the armature and iver'ting-.magnets.. Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the manner of moving the arc out of line with the focal point of the reflector.

And- .Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic view illusv tratingthe electric circuit thiugh th'e solenoids and tubes. c

, Similar letters refer to, similar parts throughout the several views.

For the purposes of this invention, I einy ploy a specially constructed flaming arc lamp using electrodes'which are composed of'or chargedwith'substances which give olf at the temperature'of the arc strongly luminous vapo-rthe proportion of light-giving radiation being greater than from incandescentsolids such as the ordinary carbon arc. I preferably employ an electrode impregnated with calcium fluo-ridv to produce a flaming vapor, which gives a golden light of great intensity. The spectrum of calcium lluorid displays its chief intensity in two ver strong bands, one in the orange and the ot er in the greenish yellow, which v yblend into an orange ellow, and which is highly ellicient in lig t production, as it givesy its light in that part of the spectrum to which the eye is most sensitive. From the foregoing it is, therefore, apparent that the use of this flaming arc in conjunction with the reflector of a headlight will, first, give a greater amount of illumination for the same amount of energy consumed, than the carbon arc; second, it will enable engineers and motormen to readily distinguish the true color ofy signals and objects, and third, it does not have a detrimental ellect upon the eyes, as objects are more easily and naturally distinguished. Further, the great penetratl ing power of yellow light in smoke, fo and dust. makes its application ideal for eadlight service.

As is well known, the flaming arc Gives olf fumes and some ash,and scoria is liable to form'u on the ends ofthe electrodes, preventing t `e establishing of the arc when vertical electrodes are used. For these reasons the flamingarc cannot be inclosed, and

for this reason, together with the fact that 110 the highly conductingvapor permits of. a'

very muc longer arc to be maintained between electrodes, vtwo inches not bein uncommon, fit requires an entirely di erent lamp construction and mechanism' than that employed for ordinary carbon arcs.

With the flaming arc practically all of the light emanates from the flame, which covers quite an appreciable area; therefore it is much easier, and infheadlight practice is possible to maintain this lar e flame, or what might be termed a ball o light, upon and surroundin -the focal point of a parabolic reflector. his large area of light permits of a certain movement of the flame wit-hout passing outside of the .focal point of the reflector, hence a shiftino` of the flaming arc does not unfocus the light; also, inasmuch as the light lis emanatlng from all points of this large area of flame its rays converge about any object which may be between it and the front of the lamp, such as the electrode feed tubes, diverting-magnet poles, or even small objects'in front of t-he glass door of the headlight, which fea.- ture permits of the use of a grating infront of the glass door to prevent the breaking of the same by any ob]ects coming in contact with the front of the headlight.

It has been admitted that considerable of the flame bf the arc is surrounding the focal pointl of the reflector, and hence some of the rays from the flame will be out of focus, and in order to utilize those rays which are unfocused, as well as the 'direct side rays from the flame which do not in any case reach the reflector, I employ a shallow type of parabolic reflector to which is attached a reflecting casing located forward of and slightly divergent from the reflector. This casing serves to direct the rays out from the lamp and to intercept the unfocused rays and reflect them forward. Thisl construction permits of the use of a reflector'withoutany openings in it, hence eliminates shadows which would occur therefrom, and in addition gives a much greater reflecting surface than could4 otherwise be obtained. Further, the focal point of this type of reflector is farther forward from the apex of the reflector than in the. deep type reflectors,

i' which allows the lamp mechanism tobe mounted over thel forward casing with the electrode feed tubes extending through an opening in said casing at an angle with both tips of the electrodes toward the reflector, thereby delivering their light-unobstructed to the reflector.

In street railway operation a wide range ofl voltage is frequently met with, also the variation of steam pressure in locomotive servicey causes a` variation'of speed of the steam driven turbines operating the headlight generator, -resulting in extremes of voltage orl current at the headlight, and to 'support the meet these conditions and to maintain aconstant source of light at all times at the headlight, I have devised a novel means of regulation of the arc lamp for this headlight.

This said means of regulation is accomplished by a Variable magnetic field across or surrounding the flame producing arc,

said magnetic field being produced by thc solenoids which also operate the mechanism of the lamp and which are energized by the same current as flows through and produces .the aming arc by virtue of the solenoid windings being in series with the flaming arc; therefore, any variation in the current passing through the flaming arc also varies in the windings of the solenoid and thereby causes a consequent variation in the magnetic field across'or about the flame of the arc. As the magnetic field tends to increase with an increase of current in the windings of the solenoids, it therefore exerts a greater effect upon the arc, tending to divert it from its normal path and increase its length, consequently increasing its resistance and tending to maintain the current in the flaming arc constant. This effect, however, is very greatly intensified and augmented by the means and construction which I employ in the following described manner:

Referring to the drawings: the numeral 1 designates a flaming arc headlight em-v.

side wall portion 7 having an open top portion 8. This side wall portion is positioned all around the inside o the cage at a short space from it to leave a clear space 9 all all around it, and is provided with an.

around the side wall portion between it and the cage 6.l The side walls of this ventilating cage are perforated with a plurality of apertures 10, which permit the air to escape to the atmosphere, as there is an air circulating draft through the perforated bottom around the reflecting casing through the casing and out through the cage as the air enters the front lower end of the headlights casing, which moves forward when on a locomotive or car and creates a wind pressure against it. rally circulates discharges through the cage at the rear of the hood where 'it is in the suction wake of the 'hood and headlight. The bottom portion of the headlight is provided with depending su porting feet strips 12, which eadlight in an upright position into and l The air natuthrough the headlight and on suitable resting portions of a locomotive l plate 16 may or car provided for them. Thesestrips are extended vup along the back of the casmg 9fthe headlight and their upper endsare pro'- vided with hook portions that are adapted to hook to suitable hook receiving members placed on the locomotive or car to receive them.

The top portion of the reector casing 3 is provided with an aperture 13, which acts as a vent aperture for the heated air within the reflector casing .and which is drawn out readifly from t-he reflector casing by the suction e' ect of the draft or air circulating around the reflector casing. This reflector casing may be of any type best adapted to reflect the light of a flamingK arc. The front end of the headlight casing is provided with a hinged door 14 and a suitable sprin catch 15 is provided to hold` the door 1n a closed positlon.

The hood 5 is arranged and adapted to house the aming arc providing mechanism which forms the essential feature of my invention. Within the hood or housing 5, is supported a base plate 16, which is hinged at its forward end u on a rod 17, which extends across the hoo and is secured at each en'd to the sides of a frame 18, to which the hood is secured, this frame forming the upper portion of a circular frame 19, to which the innerand outer headlight casings 3 and 2 respectively are secured. The rear end of the plate 16 carriesv a swiveled nut 20, through whichl the lower threaded end of an adjust-ing rod 21, passes. The upper end of this rod passes out through an aperture in the hood, and through an aperture in a plate 22, which is secured upon the top of the hood, and is provided with a knob 23,

having a hub, which bearsl a ainst the latel 22. By turnin the rod 21, t e angle o the e varied, as will be understood by reference to Fig. 2. The plate 16 carries the electrode feed tubes, and ,the operating mechanism therefor, and the adjustment of lthe late is for the pur ose of' varying the position of the arc, 4re atively tothe focal point of the reflector, as will hereinafter befully set forth.

A pair of solenoids 24, are secured to the plate 16, b rods 25, which are'secured at theower en s to the plate, andA extend up on the tubes 27 bein interthrough a plate 26, which rests upper' ends of the solenoids through which the rods rss posed between the base p ate and t e plate 26, which latter plate is clamped upon the tops of the tubes, -by nuts-28, which are screwmed 4upon theup r-end of the rods 2,5, t e said p ates.l Two' additional rods 29 extend u through the 'base plate and plate 26, an

above the latter plate,

being surrounded by spacing tubes 30 beplates 164 and 26, and by' tubes Y while the'terminal en d'55 of the windin extensions are pivotally connected to the lower ends of the poles, by screws 36, which permit the extensions to be adjusted and held at the desired adjustment.

On oppositesides of the base plate, and on a line midway between the two solenoids, are secured brackets 37, which are insulated from the base plate by suitable non-c onducting niedia 38, such as sheets of mlca. These brackets are each provided with a pair of inwardly extending arms, between which are pivotally supported hinge members 38 A, forming part of a pair of sleeves 39, which support a pair of electrode feed tubes 40. The solenoids are furnished with an armature 41, having plungers 42, which extend slidably into the upper Iends of the solenoids, to within a short distance of the poles 33. Thearniatnre is supported lby coil springs 43, which are attached at their opposite ends to threaded rods 44, which exnd down through the plate 32. These-rods are adjusted to vary the tension on the springs, by thumb nuts 45 on their upper ends, and are held against accidental movement by jam nuts 46.

A-rod 47 is secured centrally to the armature and extends up loosely through an aperture in the plate 32, and is provided above the plate with a thumb nut 48, the purpose of which will be hereinafter set forth. The lower portionV of the rod 47 is threaded, and it passes through a cross head 49, which rests upon the armature 41, and

no A

is clamped thereto againstV rotation, by a 'I jam nut 50 on the sald rod. lThe ends of Vthe'cross head are bifurcated, and in thesebifurcated ends are pivoted the lower ends of rods 51, which are pivoted at their upper endsto jclips 52, which are clamped upon the upper. ends of the feed tubes 40, suitable insulating material 53 being interposed betweenthecli s and tubes.

The solenoids are wound in series, and the tze terminal end 54 of oneof their windings connects with one of the brackets 37 which supports one of the feed tube holding sleeves the vother solenoid Aconnects with' a A feed wire 57 connects the op ite bracket" -renti is o n fa circuitis established 'through' wire' 56, which leads to asouree of' .powen nthe feed tubes and their electrodes, the solower ends are spread, the spreadingmove-4 ment being defined by the thumb nut 48, on the rod 47, contacting vwith the plate 32. The springs 43 exert a counter pull upon t-he armature to 'that exerted by the soleyIll'i prevent arcing.

noids, and tend to draw, the lower ends of the feed tubes together.

Electrodes 58 are inserted in the tubes 40 y through openings 59 in the hood, which are covered by hinged caps 60. The lower ends of the electrodes pass out throughthe lower .ends .of the tubes, andf engage stops 61,-

Which are adjustably secured in brackets 62, secured upon the lower ends of the tubes. These stops are made of any suitable heat resisting material, preferably copper, and they are arranged at an angle to the direction of the tubes, so as to cross the `path of thel electrodes far enough to prevent them from slipping out of the tubes, as will be understood by reference to Figs. 1 and ,4;

The stop holding brackets 62 comprise sleeve portions, (from which extend wingsI 63, to which are secured U-.shaped metal plates 64, which hold the stops. One side of each plate is held to the wing 63 by a screw 65, which clamps the plate upon the stop, the stop being slightly wider than the wing 63. By loosening the screw 65, the stop may be adjusted tothe requiredl position. A thin strip 66 of brass or other metal, maybe inserted in each tube 40, between the tubeand the electrode, as shown in Figs. y6 and 7, their object .beingto insure uniformcontact between the tube and .the electrode and thus The current flowing through the windings of the solenoids, which also flows through the arc, causes the armature -to be drawn down and thereby separates the feed tubes and the; tips of the electrodes, striking the arc at67, as shown in Fig. 8, and atthe same time producin a magnetic flux through the magnetic circuit 68', 69,70,71,72, and 73, as indicated by the arrows, 69,'73,

and 71, being air gaps in the magnetic circuit.

As the armature 41 descends,the air gaps at 69 and 7 3 are decreased, consequently decreasing'the reluctance of the magnetic cirlons' cuit and thereby greatly increasing themaglnetic 'flux 'in said magnetic circuit and across sdf-.the field 71 at the arc, distending the arc l' and increasing its resistance and reducing the' current, tending to retard the action upon the armature and causing a v ery close regulation of the current and the arc with la minimum of 'movement of the lamp parts.

a variation of the air gaps 69 and 73, ity

is at the saine time further varied by the change of current strength .in those turns of winding of the solenoids surrounding the upper ends'of the diverting-magnets 34 and 35, all of which has a regulating effect upon the are. The connections of the solenoid windings with reference to the direction of the current in the electrodes and across the arc are made, and the poles of the diverting magnets so placed that' the flame of the arc will always be diverted toward the apex of the reflector, as shown by the arrow 74, Fig. 8, and along the line of the axis of the reflector.

The flaming arc is represented at 67 in which the currentis flo'win away from the observer, hence the lines of force about the arc are in a. clockwise direction, as shown by the arrows of the circles about the arc. The magnetic lines of force of the field 71 across the air gap-about the arc are from the north pole to the south pole of the diverting magnets, as indicated by the arrows. The lines of force about the arc 67 and the lines of force across 71 tend to coincide and in the mutual effort to do so they exert a crowding eect upon each other which diverts the arc in the direction of the arrow 74 and proportional to the strength of the current in the 'arc and the strengthpof the magnetic flux across the gap 71.

It is quite often desirable, especially in street and interurban railway service, to have a widely diverged light on cit-y streets, while in sparsely settled districts where high speed is attained, a'long powerful beam of light is necessary; this latter light is attained when4the flaming arc is in the focal point of the reflector, while a diverged light is attained by moving the flaming arc forward fromthe said focal point. I have devised means of accomplishing this, as will be understood by referring to Figs. 2 and 9. The position of the electrode is shown by the full -line 75, Fig. 9, and the arc is in focus when at 76; however, if the knob 23 be turned so as to allow vthe base plate 16 tobe lowered, carrying with it the mechanism and electrode feed tubes, the electrodes and consequently the arc will be moved from 76 forward in the axis of the reflector toward 77 ,which consequently unfocuses the light and produces a widely diverged light. y

As has been mentioned, a flaming arc produces a vapor which condenses into solid fumes, and it will be readily appreciated that in `utilizing a flaming are for headlight service that it is necessary to dispose of these fumes-and prevent them from condensing upon the working parts of the lamp aswell as the reflector and the headlight glass. The fumes which are generated at ,dncing electrodes within the casing liavnig ducing Vtheir ends adjacent the the are, immediately rise, due to the heated air about the arc, and pass out through the opening 13 and mingle with the air currents passing from the perforated bottom tothe ventilator, all of which is indicated by the arrows. This serves to dispose of all fumes and gases within the lamp, and

also supplies air to the arc which is necessary for its proper operation; however, the novel construction described prevents any directdraft of air against the flaming arc, which is veryy essential, as any such direct drafts against the flaming arc will cause it to flicker badly.

Having described .my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. A headlight, having a casing with a light-regulating mechanism and a curved light reiector within the` casing, arc-proelectrodes within the casing, having focal point of the reflector, and a pair of magnet poles in the casing adjacent the ends of said electrodes, the ends of said magnet poles being in the same plane with the center of the are, and the focal point of the reflector.

2. A headlight, having' a casing with a lightr' gulating mechanism and a curved light reflector within the casing, arc protheir ends adjacent the focal point of the reiector, a pair of magnet poles in the casing terminatingone above and., one below the ends of said electrodes, said poles, the center of the arc, and the focal point of the reflector being in the vertical plane fcontaining the focal axis of the reflector.

3. A headlight having light regulating mechanism -within said casing, arc-producing electrodes within the casing, a pair of solenoids within the casing,

Vfixed poles in the lower portion of the bores of said solenoids, extensions adjustably piva casing and a Y oted to said fixed poles for movement in a vertical plane'and extending into the casing to points adjacent the ends of said electrodes.

4. A headlight having a casing and a light-regulating mechanism within the casing, arc-producing electrodes within the casing, arpair of solenoids within the casing, xed poles in the lower portion of the bores of saidsolenoids, extensions adjustablypivoted to said fixed poles for movement in a vertical plane and extending into the casing to points respectively above and below the ends of said electrodes.

5. A headlight having a casing with a light-regulating mechanism and a curved light redactor within the casing, arcproduc ing electrodes inclined rearwardly within the casing toward the reflector at an angle to the vertical, and a pair of magnet-poles in the casing terminating one directly above and one directly below the ends of said electrodes.

6. A headlight, having-a Acurved light reflector and arc-producing iector and electrodes being so disposed that the focal axisof the reflector and the line of the arc areperpendicular to each other but in the same plane, and means for diverting the are along said axis. i

7. A headlight, halving a curved light refiector and arc-producing electrodes, said reflector and electrodes being so disposed that the focal aXis' of the reflector and the line of the arc areperpendicular to each other but in the same plane, and apair of magnet poles, one above and one below the center of said arc.

electrodes, said re- In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LEWIS M. McBRIDE.`

-Witnesses:

G. SARGENT ELLIOTT, ELizABETia SMiTH. 

